Maria Ampartzaki

By Anastasia Stamataki and Maria Ampartzaki

Twenty-first century demands students with critical thinking, digital and other soft skills, and capable of self-directed and self-determined learning. This chapter presents an educational design project, which focused on the development of a history online course for children of pre-primary level and the first grades of primary school, based on the constructivist paradigm of learning. Educational design research was carried out to explore how young children can respond to the demands of a contemporary online course, pursue the online course with growing confidence and independence, and earn history in a meaningful way, while developing twenty-first century skills at the same time. Data were collected by quantitative and qualitative methods and analysis showed that both pre-primary and primary school children responded remarkably well and managed to complete the online course with minimum parental support. They improved their knowledge and displayed critical thinking skills. Children showed no major difficulties in using the digital environment and expressed positive attitudes toward e-learning. The role of parents was also monitored and analyzed since it emerged as a critical factor in the successful completion of the course.

Part of the book: Early Childhood Education

By Camelia Delia Voicu, Maria Ampartzaki, Zuhal Yilmaz Dogan and Michail Kalogiannakis

This chapter presents a survey focusing on pre-primary and primary STEAM education in six countries. The survey sought to identify: (a) the perceptions of teachers, parents, and professionals from STEM and the Arts (hereafter STEAM professionals) about the STEAM approach; (b) teachers’ training needs; (c) teachers’, parents’, STEAM professionals’ perceptions of the value of the STEAM’s role in increasing the participation of young girls and disadvantaged students in STEM. Data was collected through focus-group interviews and were qualitatively analyzed. Results showed that teachers, STEAM professionals, and most of the parents had positive perceptions of the STEAM approach; they believed that it increases children’s motivation and engagement in learning, regardless of the child’s gender; it increases creativity, self-confidence and offers good learning opportunities for both boys and girls, taking into consideration their emotional and social abilities. The main difficulties identified were related to curriculum limitations, school infrastructure, and lack of resources, experience, and training in the STEAM approach. Teachers highlighted the need of training on the STEAM philosophy, essential concepts, and specific methods; access to STEAM-specific digital resources/software; practical training/seminars or blended learning training. Student teachers emphasized the need for more STEAM lessons in their initial training.

Part of the book: Early Childhood Education

By Maria Ampartzaki

Studying local history can be approached in a modern way that encourages young students to utilize the methods and skills of a historian. This includes collecting, recording, comparing, and interpreting data from primary and secondary resources. Inquiry-based and art-based learning are effective frameworks for exploring local history. Students can gain a deeper understanding of the subject by focusing on inquiry, fieldwork, thorough recording, and constructing historical narratives based on critical interpretation of all information, including opposing and alternative views. Art-based learning allows students to analyze the forms and social aspects of artifacts, constructions, events, and phenomena and then express their knowledge and understanding in various multimodal and symbolic ways. It’s essential for children to take the initiative, and be involved in the learning process, and work in collaborative environments that support their free thinking and exploration. This approach is conducive to critical thinking and encourages creativity in learning history. This chapter outlines the conditions that define inquiry and art-based learning environments and offers a tool with practical suggestions for pre-primary and primary teachers to develop their local history lessons. The tool covers four major dimensions: learning interactions, understanding historical times, art-based learning, and practical strategies specific to local history.

Part of the book: Pedagogy, Learning, and Creativity